Ingredients:
​2 packs Saltines Original
​2 packs Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 pack Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch dressing mix
​3 cups of Olive oil
​3 Tbs of your favorite BBQ rub
​2 gallon Zip locker bag

This is a great recipe from one of Arizona's best BBQ team - Rhythm n' Que. Vince and Alexa has won on the BBQ circuit for many years and I am so happy to call them friends. Check out their website: www.rhythmnque.com
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This is a great recipe for an amazing appetizer that you can use with a lot of different toppings. The first thing you have to do is to mix the olive oil, the dressing mixes and the BBQ rub together in a big bowl. Make sure that the rub and the dressing is incorporated into the olive oil.

Open the two saltine boxes and carefully place the crackers in the zip locker bag. When done, pour the olive oil mix into the bag and zip the lock. Over the next 24 hours or so,  turn the bag so that all the crackers will be covered in the olive oil mix, make sure that you don't break the crackers. After 24 hours, the oil mixture should all be absorbed. It is now time to move them to the smoker.

I used my GMG Davy Crockett with Fruitwood and it worked like a charm. Set the smoker for 225 degrees and smoke covered for two hours. The crackers should be ready to serve. These little crackers are great with a smoked salmon mix. You can top them with some blue cheese. You could also serve with a chorizo or some Iberico Ham for a Spanish feel. Experiment and I am certain that you will find your own favorite. They are also great just as they are - smoky with a great salty bbq finish!! 

Searing a steak and giving it the perfect cross-pattern while making sure that the steak is cooked perfectly medium-rare throughout could sometimes be a challenge.  This modernist technique for cooking steak may sound somewhat bizarre, but if you want that perfect pattern AND a perfectly cooked steak -  this is a bulletproof method.

The method, adapted from the "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking" cookbook, involves freezing the steak, searing it and then finishing the steak off in the oven at a low temperature.

Here is how you do it, step by step. First trim the steaks so all the big chunks of fat and silver skin is removed. Also shape them so they will look nice when served. Put in the freezer for about 1 hour. You want the outside to be slightly frozen but the steak should NOT be frozen all throughout. Freezing the outside of the steak in advance will ensure that you don’t overcook the meat while you achieve that perfect sear. Heat up the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. After an hour, remove the steaks from the freezer and sprinkle with Big Swede BBQ Badass Beef Boost. Let the steaks sweat for a couple of minutes while you heat up the cast-iron pan with some oil. Use an oil with a high smoke-point. Safflower oil or peanut oil are good choices. Make sure the pan is searing hot before you add the steaks.

Sear the steak for 30 second at a 45 degree angle. When you have a nice sear pattern rotate 90 degrees and sear for another 30 seconds. When you rotate the steak move it to another section of the pan, so it will hit a hot part that has not been cooled down by the steak. Flip and repeat. You should have a perfect cross-pattern on the steak.

The next step is to get the interior temperature of the steak to your preference. I like mine medium-rare so I would go for 130-135 degrees. In this case, I went a little higher due to requests from the guests. Put the steaks in the oven and let them slowly get up in temperature. It should take between 30-60 minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks. When they reach the right temperature, let the steaks rest for 5-7 minutes.

These steaks should be served as whole steaks, so your guests can marvel at your perfect sear. But when you slice them, you can see how they are beautifully cooked without the "bullseye-look" you can get when pan-searing or grilling a steak (inside raw, then rare, then medium, then done and the outside being a crust).

So, do you like a steak with a balanced smoke flavor, cooked to the perfection - perfect medium-rare??
​Then trying to smoke a steak and finish it off with a reverse sear might be just the solution you are looking for. In the BBQ world, the reverse sear, is growing in popularity and it is easy to see why. It is easy to use, and hard to fail.

You start by smoking the meat low and slow to an internal temperature of about 115 degrees, then you char it over a hot fire to raise it to the desired temperature, applying the crisp smoky caramelization at the end.

Reverse searing has several advantages: better heat control, as you can cook the steak to a precise degree of doneness. The meat cooks more evenly, too. And because you rest the meat between low heat smoking and high heat searing, you can serve it hot off the grill.

The first thing you  want to do is to trim the steak. I used a NY strip for this post. Trim off the bone and all the fatty areas. If there is silver skin left on the steak, remove that too. Then shape it, so it looks like a nice, clean, well-shaped steak. Looks are important too, not only taste. Season with your favorite steak or beef rub. I use the Big Swede BBQ Badass Beef Boost, of course. It gives the steak nice color with a little bit of heat - I like it that way. Let the steak sweat a couple of minutes - this allows the salt and spices from the rub to penetrate the steak and it also pulls some of the water out of the steak. While you wait for the steak to sweat, prepare the smoker and set it for 225 degrees Fahrenheit. I use a fruit wood, like apple or cherry for steaks. It gives the steak a nice color and a balanced smoke profile.

Insert a probe or check with a Thermometer, you want to make sure that the steak don't overcook in the smoker.
​I smoke it until the steak reaches an internal temperature of 115 degrees F. The steak should also have a deep-red smoky look.
​You can now let it rest for 5-6 minutes while you heat up the grill. You will sear the steak for a minute or so on each side, so try to get the grill as hot as you can. You can also do the reverse sear on a cast-iron or sauté pan.

When the grill is hot enough, quickly sear the steak in a 45 degree angle for 30 seconds then turn it 90 degrees and sear for another 30 seconds. By doing this, your steak will have a nice criss-cross pattern on both sides. Flip the steak and repeat the searing, 30 seconds, 90 degrees, another 30 seconds. Don't rush the nest step - the steak now need some time to rest.

One way to rest your steak is to take it off the grill, transfer the steak to a cutting board and then tent it under a big piece of foil. You should let the steak rest for about 5-7 minutes.

The last step is to serve the steak. I prefer to slice it when I have guests. Use a sharp knife and cut against the grains. I recommend to serve a smoked steak with something simple, yet flavorful. In this case, some over-roasted fingerling potations with rosemary and garlic. They are super-easy to make. Wash potatoes and toss with some olive oil, crushed garlic and rosemary. Bake in oven at 400 degrees and salt to taste. Simple, but so very tasty!!!

Tri-tip is a tender, lean beef cut that gets its name from its triangular shape. It is sold as a small roast from the bottom sirloin or cut into tri-tip steaks. What makes it special is the full flavor it promises for an affordable price. If you haven't heard of tri-tip, that's because for a long time, it was primarily a cut marketed in California and is still sometimes called a Santa Maria steak. Other names for the tri-tip are bottom sirloin roast and triangle roast. A boneless tri-tip roast weighs around 1-1/2 to 2 pounds and is around 2 inches thick. My favorite way to cook the tri-tip is a quick smoke with apple and finished off with a reverse sear. Let me guide you through the process.

The first step is to trim to tri-tip. Remove excess fat and if possible some of the silver skin. Shape it so you have nice slices when it is time to cut the tri-tip. The next step is optional.

You can inject the cut if you want to, but it is not necessary. It does give the tri-tip a nice beefy flavor boost. I inject the tri-tip with a mix of beef broth, Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Injection and regular Soy Sauce. Inject the tri-tip throughout. I vacuum seal the tri-tip for a couple of hours but you could also just let it sit in the fridge overnight.

The next step is not optional though. Sprinkle the tri-tip with Big Swede BBQ Badass Beef Boost. The more rub you use, the more of a kick the tri-tip will have. It is all about personal preference. Let the tri-tips sweat for 30 minutes before you put them into the smoker at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. I use apple chunks for tri-tip.

Smoke the tri-tip until the internal thermometer reaches about 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap the cut in some aluminum foil and let it rest for 45 minutes. While you are waiting, light your grill to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Grill the tri-tip quickly on both sides to get nice a sear.

Let the tri-tip rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice it. As the meat fibers begin to relax, moisture that is driven out during the grilling is redistributed and reabsorbed by some of the dissolved proteins. 
By resting the meat, it holds on to more of its natural juices—the tri-tip won't flood the cutting board when you slice into the meat. Slice and serve with some over-roasted potatoes, roasted in olive oil, thyme, rosemary and garlic.

Personally I prefer pork loins grilled but a lot of people like the moist and smoky texture of a smoked pork loin. So here is a great recipe on how to achieve this. I call this the triple-apple approach because I use apple flavor both in the wood chunks, the rub and in the glaze.

For this recipe I use Victory Lane BBQ's Sassy Apple BBQ Rub and Triple 9 Swine's Apple and Cinnamon Glaze. Both of these ingredients have amazing apple flavor. If you want more kick to the pork, use half of the Apple rub and half of a regular pork rub.
​Start by trimming the pork loin. It has fat cap with some sliver skin that you want to remove. You will not have the pork in the smoker long enough to render the fat - so simple solution - trim it off!! 

Sprinkle the rub over all sides of the pork loin. Let it sit until the loin starts sweating - see picture above. Sweating occurs when the salt in the rub is extracting liquid from the loin, it also means that some of the rub flavors is getting pulled into the meat.

While the loin is sweating, set up the smoker at 250 degrees Fahrenheit and use apple wood chunk. Let the dirty white smoke clear up and when you have a clear, blue smoke, start cooking the loin. After a couple of hours, check the internal temperature. I normally pull it when the internal temperature reaches 138. Some people gets nervous when the loin is pink inside, but if you like that, you can pull it earlier, around 130 degrees. At 138, it will be cooked through, the meat will be white but still very moist. Next step is to sear the outside. Set up the grill or the smoker for a quick sizzle, around 500 degrees F.
​While you wait for the grill to be ready, glaze the loin richly in the Triple 9 Swine Apple glaze. 

Sear all the sides of the loin quickly, give it good grill marks but make sure you don't overcook it. After the grilling, let the pork loin rest for 10 minutes so it stays moist. After the rest, slice and serve. This pork loin is excellent with some apple sauce and a rich, creamy potato gratin. Enjoy!!!